Fighting History
by Hopeful Historian
Summary: Hermione is sent back in time. A soldier in her former life, she continues to fight against the Dark Lord's powers now. With more at stake than ever before, will Hermione be able to make a difference or will history continue to repeat itself?
1. Chapter 1

Hi Guys,

I hope you enjoy this story- its been floating in my head for a while. I apologize for the roughness- I don't have anyone to read this over except my dog.. which didn't go as well as planned.

All characters and familiar settings belong to J. K Rowling and the universe she created.

Reviews are more than welcome :)

Enjoy!

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It had been 42 hours since she had first woken up. Her last memory was of chaos and upheaval. Harry had fallen, and with his fall, a surge of energy seemed to revive the dark forces. She was not only witness to the brutal slaying of her comrades, but was also a soldier who was forced to kill as well. She not only killed for efficiency, she killed for pain, for justice, and more importantly, for revenge.

The last thing she could remember was exchanging curses with Dolahov among the fallen bodies littered amongst the Hogwarts grounds. Her body was battered, and she was thoroughly exhausted, but she kept moving. Curse after curse flowed through her wand, and she refused to stop until she was dead. Dolahov taunted her, explained in graphic detail all of the things he planned to do with her body when he finally forced her into submission, and this made her push back harder. She remembered time freezing, she remembered being hit with a spell, feeling at peace, and then nothing.

She woke up to rough hands grabbing her broken and battered body. From that point it was small patches. She remembered a hysterical female voice, one that seemed oddly familiar, yet she couldn't place. She felt her clothes being removed, and it was this that finally made her body struggle. She was quickly subdued and shushed by gentle cooing, and her mind went to sleep once more. She heard gasps and sobs, and then heard the voice of someone she knew to be long gone. She heard the gentle voice of Albus Dumbledore, speaking in somber tones, and with this she knew she was dead.

Hermione woke up slowly, her eyes not immediately obeying her command to open. The room was extremely bright, with the sun high in the sky and the curtains open. When her eyes finally adjusted, Hermione was once more was assured that she had passed on to the afterlife. Hogwarts infirmary was in perfect condition; pristine white beds, walls still intact, and the wild life of outside could be heard. Hermione layed back down amongst the pillows and sighed with relief. Although the pain of what had happened, both physical and mental, were still very much present, she couldn't help but let the relief wash over her. She was free. The war probably still raged on down on Earth, but here, wherever that may be, there was peace, and for that she was grateful. She pondered as to why her afterlife seemed to shape itself in an exact replica of the Hogwarts infirmary, as this was not a place she seemed to connect with peace and tranquility, but then decided it was not up to her to decide what the afterlife was to look like.

After several minutes, she decided to take inventory of her body. After being in war for so long, she was surprised this had not been her first instinct when she had woken up. When living a life as a soldier one of the first things you are taught is to be always self-aware of your body and your surroundings. Assess your injuries, observe your surroundings, and come up with a plan; this had been drilled into her over and over until it had become second nature to do so. Hermione sluggishly sat up against the pillows and looked down at her body. She was dressed in a white patient's robe, similar to those muggle patients wore in hospitals and the blood and dirt had been scrubbed off her body. She slowly reached a hand up to her head, which was increasingly starting to hurt, and was surprised to feel her soft curls and not the matted knots she had been expecting. Looking down, Hermione frowned at the sight. For some reason she had been hoping to see the body she had pre-war, and yet she was met with the one she had become familiar with. Hermione was a petite girl of 5'2 and had been blessed by her mother's side with ample curves and lean, toned limbs. War, however, did not care for pretty girls, and had turned her body into what she believed to be an ugly site. Her body was too thin now, composed of hard muscle and apparent bones. Although this bothered her, Hermione knew that this was the body of a soldier, and that it could be rectified by eating regularly. What bothered her were the scars. While she was proud of some, knowing that they meant she had survived, it was also hard to look at a body that was littered with them. Thin ones, thick and ropey ones, patterns, and the one she despised the most, the word mudblood carved deep and crookedly into her forearm, all stood out so strongly against her pale skin. It had been a long time since Hermione had looked healthy; full shiny hair, golden tan skin, curves, and bright eyes. She could not help but be disappointed that this was not the version of herself she would be in the afterlife, rather she would be what she had been on earth, a strong soldier with a battered body.

Hermione was startled out of her inventory when the door to the infirmary opened up. She could not immediately see who it was, but she heard the quick shuffle of footsteps and frantically searched for her wand. She quickly grabbed it off the end table and turned to be met with a sight of a familiar face.

"Oh Dear, I am sorry I didn't mean to startle you. How are you feeling? I'm surprised you're even awake right now. Heaven knows your body needs the rest. I expected you to be in a dead sleep for at least another week while your body healed." The matron said quickly. Hermione stared at the woman incredulously. Why would Madame Pomfrey be in the after-life and why would she be younger? Hermione continued to stare at the woman. She was still plump and she overall looked the same, just younger with less wrinkles. Her warm aura and kind voice put Hermione at ease, as she was reminded of the numerous times the trio were in the caring company of this woman.

"Can you speak deary? You've been unconscious for nearly a week now, so it'll take some time for your body to adjust. I know you must be exhausted but Albus has given me direct orders to get him when you are awake and able to talk. It's not often we have young women appear out of nowhere on Hogwarts ground, especially in your condition." The woman looked sympathetically at Hermione, and Hermione knew she had tended to all of her wounds, past and present.

From there it was a whirlwind of conversations and the discovery of numerous heartbreaking truths. Looking back at the past 42 hours, she was still in shock and felt numb to her core. She had traveled back almost 20 years, and did not know how. There was no known way to go back, although it seemed that there was nothing to go back to. Not only did she witness the deaths of numerous people she loved, but now there was no way to go back and see who had survived. Although this was not her fault, she could not help but feel as if she abandoned her comrades on the battlefield, but was also honest enough with herself to realize that her fellow soldiers were fighting a losing battle.

During her first conversation with Dumbledore she gave him permission to use occlumency on her, after he first proved his identity to her. Old habits die hard, and just because she was not on the battle field now, did not mean she could trust everyone because of a kind and familiar face. For all she knew she could be in a Death Eater camp, and the use of polyjuice potion and other spells were being used to trick her into spilling her secrets. When she was confident she was with the actual Albus Dumbledore, and what he said to be true, she insisted he use occlumency to look inside her mind. While he put up a fight at first, she forced him to look. She told him, in no lighter words, that the wizarding world was being destroyed. Everyone who could lead the lights army was dead, and the lights' champion, their one hope, and had been brutally slaughtered. The wizarding world was quickly facing its demise, and there was really no harm in knowing the future now, because to be honest, there was nothing worse that could be done. The pair had spent several minutes in solemn silence, Dumbledore's eyes were clouded with tears, and he looked at the young woman before him with awe and sadness. Plans were quickly made to induct Hermione into the Order and have her housed with several other Order members.

This was how Hermione had found herself sitting in a small room on the edge of Essex in the middle of the night. Albus had placed her in the care of Marlene McKinnon, a girl who seemed to be around Hermione's age. She was fiery, and loud, and Hermione knew they would get along swimmingly. Marlene had flooed into Dumbledore's office upon his request, and sat down patiently as he explained Hermione's situation. Both Hermione and Dumbledore agreed that the knowledge of where she originally came from would be kept secret, but otherwise her story could be told the same. She had fought in numerous battles, been tortured by death eaters, lost numerous friends and her family to Voldemort, and was now homeless and orphaned. She would join the Order and would continue to fight and train, and offer any information she could. While her constant supply of information would only be known by a select few in the Order, she would not hide any other aspect of her life, and would continue to be a soldier in her new life. Marlene listed intently to Dumbledore while he explained all about the new Order member. When he was finished, Marlene quickly got up and crossed to the room to the new girl and enveloped her into a warm hug. Marlene knew what it was like to be orphaned from a war, what it was like to face loss, and when she looked at Hermione she saw a fighter, but she also saw a girl who had lost everything. Marlene held Hermione while she pulled herself together, and the two knew just from this encounter they would be more than simply coworkers.

Marlene had escorted her to the safe house on the edge of Essex and showed Hermione to what would be her room. She gave her a brief tour of the house, informing her that they shared the house with two other Order members, the Prewett twins. Marlene explained how the twins were out on a mission and if she saw two large ginger men in the house to not be alarmed. Hermione smiled to herself, knowing little about the Prewett twins, but knowing that if they were anything like the Weasley twins, they would bring her great comfort. Marlene helped Hermione settle into her new room, and explained how tomorrow they would go shopping for new clothes and supplies, then move onto the Order meeting where she would be introduced and inducted. Hermione did not even have the chance to object to shopping, because Marlene saw her new friend getting ready to interject. With a steely look, Marlene quickly informed her that Dumbledore was footing the bill and as the Commander in Chief of the Order of the Phoenix, what he said goes, so shopping would be occurring the next day. Uncomfortable and grateful at the same time, Hermione thanked Marlene once more and bid her goodnight as she was ready to collapse. Hermione laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. The past 42 hours had been absolutely insane and chaotic, but she couldn't help but feel hopeful for what was to come. For the first time, in what felt like forever, Hermione was able to fall asleep knowing that for one night at least, she was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again;

Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed my story; I appreciate it more than you know. A big thank you to my poor sister who keeps having to answer my thousand texts about this story. I can't promise all updates will be this fast, but I will definitely try to update regularly. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter- Please let me know what you think.

-Kate :)

PS: I apologize about any grammatical or spelling errors you may find; I'm the only one looking over this, so while I try my best, there's definitely going to be some mistakes.

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Hermione woke up drenched in sweat, muscles tight from fear. It took several moments of frantically looking around the unfamiliar room to remember where she was. She breathed in and out deeply for what seemed like hours until her heart finally slowed to its normal pace. Although the sun had not quite fully risen, Hermione knew she was now up for the day. She didn't know what exactly she dreamt of, but knew she did not wish to revisit whatever it was. Standing up quietly, Hermione surveyed the room once more. Last night she had been exhausted and stumbled through the tour Marlene had given, barely remembering what she had been shown. The room she had been given was small, but well kept. Dark, hard wood floors with a large area rug, a full sized bed with a warm quilt, a closet, 2 dressers, and what she would soon find to be her favorite piece in the room, a wooden rocking chair. Hermione looked around once more, appreciating all the details, and then deciding to venture off in search of a shower. Marlene had been wise enough to leave a towel for Hermione, so with that in hand, Hermione searched the house for the bathroom. The dark blue house which she now called her own was narrow and three stories tall; the first floor compromised of the kitchen, dining area, living room, a half bathroom, and what looked to be a maintence/ laundry room. The second floor, held the twins bedrooms and the only bathroom with a tub and shower. The third floor was where Marlene and Hermione's new rooms were located, which was well suited to Hermione's liking.

Hermione luckily found the room with ease, and was happy to find it empty. She quickly locked the door with her wand, and started the shower, adjusting the temperature to her liking. Hermione stripped down and slowly slid into the shower, settling herself on the floor of the tub under the hot spray of water. Although Madame Pomfrey had washed Hermione during her stay, this was the first shower she had taken in what felt like forever. After enjoying several minutes in the steam, Hermione quickly remembered she now had roommates and did not wish to inconvenience them with her notoriously long showers, as the boys had always joked. Rushing through her regular routines, Hermione eventually stepped out of the shower, toweling off her body. It was then that she encountered the one thing she wished not to see so early in the morning, her reflection. Although she had not always hated looking in mirrors, they now just reminded her of what she had become, a battered soldier. Her whiskey colored curls hung heavily to just above her waist. Her hair was no longer extremely bushy; the extra weight that came with the extreme length of her hair had tamed the friziness, although she still had to be careful in its treatment. The past week or so in Madame Pomfrey's care had done her body good, and she was starting to round out slightly more, though the sharp angles of her body were still present. Her face remained mostly the same, just slightly more angular. She still had the same large eyes, a dark hazel color bordering on brown, framed by thick and long eyelashes. A small nose covered in a small smattering of freckles, and plump lips with an accentuated cupids bow. She knew all of these elements should equal a pretty face, yet one look at her, and all anyone could see was a hardness that could only come from deep loss.

Hermione looked down at her body, although she still had her curves, no starvation or extreme activity could diminish those, her body was not soft. Her ribs still stuck out slightly, and her hip bone was more prominent then she could ever remember. A few meals with Molly Weasley would definitely rectify the situation, Hermione thought sadly. Although the mother-like figure may not remember her, Hermione could not forget her and the love she had for the woman. Hopefully living with Molly's younger twin brothers would allow her to run into the infamous matriarch. Remembering once again she now had roommates, and that she had been in the bathroom longer than she had planned for, she quickly wrapped the towel around her body. Looking down she realized she had not brought a change of clothes with her. Flustered, Hermione realized her choices were to put on the lended clothes from Hogwarts, or quickly make it back to her room in just her towel. Although it seemed like a bold move on her first day in a new home to walk around in just a towel, Hermione couldn't stand the thought of putting back on her dirty clothes. With her mind made, she quickly grabbed her used clothes, secured her towel, and opened the door. Peeking outside, she saw no one, and sighed with relief. Quietly making her way to her room, she was startled to see two large men making their way up the stair case. They both looked up at her squeak and locked eyes with the small brunette.

Hermione stared at the two extremely handsome men who were very obviously related to the Molly Weasley. Both men were easily over 6 feet tall, with broad shoulders and shaggy red hair. They look exhausted and had several cuts over their bodies and one of them was leaning against the banister, clutching a stomach wound which seemed to be bleeding. Without thinking, Hermione pulled out her wand and went into war mode.

"How did you get this injury?" She asked, her voice confident and clear, swishing her wand to secure her towel like a strapless dress. Both men stared at her incredulously, before she repeated her question once more. The injured twin looked at his brother, baffled at what this strange witch was doing.

"He got it from a dark curse, not sure which one though. They ambushed us. We apparated but it seems they were able to land a hit. I slowed the blood flow but it's still not stopping completely and he's in pain." The uninjured twin, more commonly known as Gideon, answered. He had been debriefed about their new housemate before coming home, and knew that she would soon be inducted into the Order. While he knew she was trustworthy, he couldn't help but think this situation was incredibly odd. He imagined being politely introduced to his new roommate, not having her bark orders while tending to his injured twin in a tiny towel.

"Can you take your shirt off for me? I need to have a better look at the injury before I try to treat it. Also, you- I'm sorry but I don't know your name- could you bring me a blood replenishing potion if you have it? I'm positive I know how to treat this, but he's lost too much blood. If you don't have it we might have to rush him to St. Mungo's, although I would like to avoid that situation as much as possible." Hermione said, not even looking at Gideon, rather focusing on the wound that was now in clear view after the injured twin had removed his shirt. Gideon smirked and nodded his head, walking down the stairs to see what potions they had in the storage. Normally the twins would have made jokes about some fit bird trying to undress them, but two years working for the Order had changed them. While they still loved a good laugh, they were more mature, and understood that the situations in which the Order put them in deserved seriousness. That being said, Gideon still saw the humor in the situation, and knew he would be taking the piss out of both roommates and retelling this story to all Order members at a another time.

Hermione gently touched the wound and the man squirmed back, hissing in pain.

"I'm sorry- I just need to examine it before I do any spell work. One of the reasons wounds created by dark magic are so dangerous is because if the wrong spell is used to treat them, the results could be fatal. Okay, I'm going to help you sit on the floor and lean against the wall. What's your name?" She said all of this in a soothing voice as she helped the large man sit down.

"Fabian. It's nice to meet you…?" He looked at her with a curious look.

"Hermione. Sorry about that—I was hoping to meet you on better terms. I'm your new roommate and fellow order initiate." She slowly trailed off, staring at his wound once more.

"On a scale of 1 to 10- how much pain are you in? Or better yet- how much more can you handle?" She asked, staring directly into his eyes.

"Just do what needs to be done—I can handle it." Fabian hissed out through gritted teeth. Hermione looked at him, and then quickly swished her wand. Fabians belt was immediately in her hand. She unrolled the belt and stuck the thick leather inside his mouth.

"Bite down hard, okay? I know this isn't ideal, but this is a serious wound and I need to treat it now. On the count of three- 1, 2…" Before she could reach three, Hermione had cast the spell non-verbally. Fabian writhed in pain for several seconds, muffled screeching noises could be heard through the belt, before he finally resting against the wall, out of breath and sweating. His eyes looked glassy and he seemed almost delirious from the pain, but Hermione was happy to see the wound was already starting to close and would soon be almost completely healed over.

"What's going on? Is he okay? What did you do?" All of these questions were flying out of Gideon's mouth before he even reached the top of the stairs, his eyes locked onto his twin. Fabian managed a weak smile, but stayed motionless against the wall. Hermione stood, still awkwardly dressed in her towel, and grabbed the phial of out of Fabian's hand.

"How long ago was this made?" She asked, while uncorking the phial. She took a quick sniff of the potion, deeming it still fresh, and poured the potion down Fabian's throat. Several moments passed, both Hermione and Gideon stayed silent as they watched the potion slowly work its way through his body. As color began to return to the young man, Hermione finally allowed herself a moment to collect herself. Looking down, the young witch blushed, realizing that yes- she was still in a towel, and had been for the past several minutes around two very handsome young men who also reminded her of several of her Weasley crushes.

"Well, since that's over with, my names Fabian, and the arse hat over there is Gideon. Figured it's appropriate to now formally introduce ourselves to the fit bird who saved the dumber half of the Prewett twins." Fabian said with flair, followed with an overdramatic bow. A blush spread quickly through Hermione's body, and Fabian smirked when seeing how the color spread from the top of her chest all the way to the tips of her ears. Hermione awkwardly smiled, inwardly pleased at how, while she was incredibly embarrassed, she felt right at home with such a familiar set of twins.

"OI! What the fuck is going on down here? I swear to God, Moody must actually hate me because there's no way he would assign me to live with you two if he didn't." Marlene muttered angrily as she sleepily stumbled down to the second floor. She froze upon the sight of a shirtless and bloody Gideon, a blushing Hermione in a towel, and Fabian smirking like a kid who just got away with murder.

"But actually.. What the fuck are you guys doings?" Marlene questioned yet again, even more bewildered than before.

"Um, I'm going to change into something more appropriate." Hermione whispered as her embarrassment turned into complete mortification. She quickly walked up the stairs, skipping a couple in her hurry, and slightly tripping over one. She luckily righted herself fast enough and made it into her room. Although a floor above, Hermione could hear their quieted voices when she put her ear to the door. She listened as the twins explained how Gideon had ended up injured, Gideon's voice far more faint than Fabian's, and how Hermione had probably saved the young man's life. They went into more detail about the mission before finally discussing their new roommate.

"Moody debriefed us both before we went on the mission. Told us how she was basically a seasoned war vet, definitely lethal, and had been through far worse than most of us can imagine. He didn't give specifics but one look at her body and you can tell what he means." Fabian said, his voice quieter than before.

"She's quite fit, isn't she though? I mean yeah, she definitely looks like she's been through hell and back, but damn she's still good looking after that. Imagine her after a few meals with Molly, she'll be quite a fit bird then." Gideon muttered, a slight laugh in his voice.

"You are too right my brother, she is quite fit. Moody told us she's right off the battle field, give her a week or two and she'll be as good as new." Fabian agreed with his brother.

"You both are absolute wankers." Marlene interjected heatedly, amongst protests from the twins. "She's been through hell. If you stopped staring at her tits for five seconds and looked into her eyes, you'd see this girl actually needs friends, not two randy boys following her every move." The boys were silent for a moment, Hermione couldn't hear much from her place near the door.

"Did you see the scar on her forearm?" Gideon asked quietly. Hermione understood that he would have been the one most likely out of all of them to notice this scar. While she normally glamoured the scar, or wore clothes to hide it, glamours took energy and she generally tried to save her energy when in the comforts of her own home. This old habit carried over into her new environment and she hadn't even thought to glamour her body before making a dash to her room from the bathroom.

"It's kind of hard to miss something like that, Gid. Looks like it was wickedly painful- definitely cursed. It looks as though it's still fresh." Fabian muttered. "Oh God," he moaned, "I hope it wasn't fresh. Can you imagine her running around taking care of your sorry arse while she's nursing a fresh cursed wound of her own?"

"It wasn't fresh." Marlene informed them. "Or atleast it's a couple weeks old. She had it when she first went under Pomfrey's care." Hermione sat up from her position on the floor and decided to stop listening to their private conversation. Hermione knew she should get used to these kinds of reactions. In her time, everyone was riddled with scars and stories similar to hers, but it was not like this here. While a large part of her was grateful to the fact that most of the fighting would not be done in the open, it also meant that she would be more isolated than ever. While these new order members knew loss and pain, they did not know war, not like she did. Hopefully they never would, not if she had anything to do with it. With a new sense of determination, Hermione began to get dressed. Marlene had lent her some of her clothes to wear on their shopping trip, and Hermione had to drastically size them down. It wasn't that Marlene was an overly large girl, but at 5'8, she dwarfed her petite friend. Once assured that her clothes were properly fitted, she made her way out of her room. Walking down both flights of stairs, Hermione found her other roommates in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

"Tea or coffee, love?" Fabian asked as he put a kettle on the stove and tapped it with his wand.

"Coffee, please." Hermione replied, quietly making her way through the kitchen to sit at small table against the wall. Although there was a dining room, it seemed most meals were taken in the kitchen, if the layer of dust in the dining room was anything to go by. Hermione settled comfortably in her seat, pulling her legs up, and watching the scene unfold in front of her. The three were obviously all very comfortable with each other. While it was expected for the twins to work in sync, she had after all grown up watching the Weasley twins, it was interesting to observe that kind of flow with a third party involved. All three of them moved around each other as if they knew exactly what the other was doing, weaving and bobbing through the cramped area without any bodily contact at all. Hermione continued to observe them for some time until a chipped mug with an elephant on the front was placed in front of her. Hermione greedily grabbed the cup and quickly put in the necessary milk and sugar.

"Here love, I made eggs and toast. Help yourself to the fruit salad on the table, Mum dropped it off last night. Insisted me and Gid needed more green stuff, or something like that, not quite sure, I tune her out most of the time." Fabian said as he sat down next to the brunette with his own plate. Hermione smiled gratefully and began shoveling food into her mouth. Food was sparse over the last year which lead to her not so graceful eating display. Gideon and Marlene joined the table, and quickly followed Hermione's lead. She looked up to observe Gideon, he seemed better but she wanted to check his levels after breakfast in case he needed another dose of the blood replenishing potion. Wiping her plate clean with her last slice of toast, Hermione looked up again to see all three of her roommates staring at her.

"Um, Sorry." She stuttered, "I'm normally not so barbaric at the dinner table. Meals weren't always guaranteed this past year, so I guess I get a little preoccupied with the food and seem to forgo my manners, sorry. " Hermione mumbled, blushing a deep scarlet which seemed to spread all over her body. She really seemed to be winning her roommates over with her charm and grace, she thought sarcastically.

"No worries, Hermione. It was actually nice to see someone enjoying my cooking. Normally these two arseholes just complain and whine. Bunch of babies, the lot of 'em." Fabian winked, while levitating the used plates to the sink. Hermione inwardly sighed, grateful to the kindness the two twins and Marlene had showed her.

"Alright Fabio, enough flirting. Me and Hermione need to be on our way, girls day out and all." Marlene stated, as she seemed to go from zero to sixty. While Hermione could already feel that she and Marlene would be friends, she couldn't help but be intimidate by the girl. A tall beauty with shoulder length, glossy black hair and clear blue eyes, Marlene was a classic beauty. Her body was to die for, and something about her just screamed siren, but it wasn't just that. She was magnetic. Hermione had known her for all of five seconds before she was drawn to the fiery girl, who exuded enthusiasm and life even when sitting in silence listening to Dumbledore prattle on.

"Up we go, Hermione. Now you're going to have to charm my shoes to fit you, your tiny child feet won't fit into anything I own, but I'm sure we can make it work. We are capable witches after all." Marlene said while running around, gathering items that she needed for the day. Marlene seemed to be in constant motion, a stream of words continued to fall from her lips, and Hermione just stood still and watched.

"Mars is a mystery to us all, love. Dead and cranky one second, then moving so fast you can barely see her the next. We've lived with her for almost a year, and we still don't get it." Gideon whispered with a conspiratorial smile, leaning against the wall, he still looked peaky but was a far cry from the injured man she met earlier. Hermione giggled softly and slowly walked towards Marlene. The witch in question quickly grabbed Hermione, smiled, and apparated them directly into an alley outside of Diagon Alley. Hermione's feet had barely touched the ground before Marlene was pulling her into the Leaky Cauldron. Marlene yelled a quick hello to the barman and Hermione smiled gently, while the man Hermione recognized as a younger Tom, smiled and told them to enjoy their day.

"Okay. I think the way we should break this down. We'll shop for all of your magical supplies first, grab lunch, and then heading into muggle London for clothes. We'll get you a couple dress robes, but I feel like for the most part we'll do all your clothes shopping in the muggle stores. Sound good?" Marlene turned around and stared at a very lost Hermione.

"Yeah that sounds great. Thank you so much for everything. I'm sorry, I'm just a little overwhelmed." Hermione responded, blushing slightly while staring at her feet. Her charm work was solid, and the borrowed shoes she was using fit her well, but sparkly ballet flats were never something that she would wear out normally. Actually, her whole outfit was something she would never have worn out normally. Super flared bell bottom jeans, and a flowing flowered top with odd designs was what Marlene had given her to wear, and while she definitely fit in with the time, she didn't necessarily love the style. If she remembered correctly, punk rock music was becoming increasingly popular in this time, as well as the style. While she wasn't planning on looking like a punk rock band member, she could definitely connect with those clothing choices a lot more than flared bell bottoms and the styles of the early 70's.

"No need to apologize. I don't know your whole story, and I'm not asking for you to tell me unless you want to, but I want you to know I do recognize the fact that you have had it very difficult up until this point. You're in a new environment with people you don't know, and I'm sure you're missing home. All of these things are completely overwhelming, and I can imagine that would be extremely hard to handle. What I can say though is the people you're going to meet today are some of the best people I know. My entire family was murdered during my last year of Hogwarts, just as I was graduating. The Order not only gave me something to fight for, they gave me a family. Every single person in this organization not only genuinely cares about me and my wellbeing, but would gladly give their life for mine, and I would do the same for all of them. To know that I have an entire group of people who love me and are willing to do anything for me.." Marlene took in a deep breath, her voice had become clogged with emotion and her eyes were welling with tears. "Nothing can bring my family back, and nothing will take that pain away, but having friends like I do in the order, and belonging to a group who is willing to sacrifice themselves to stop the people who took my family away… well it's the part of my life I'm most proud of." Marlene took another deep breath and stared at Hermione. Both girls had seen tremendous lost, and could recognize a kindred spirit when they saw one. Hermione gripped Marlene's hand, and was silent for a moment.

"Thank you." It seemed like such an inadequate response after everything Marlene had shared, but there was nothing else to say. She appreciated the tall beauty sharing such intimate details, and putting herself out on a limb to make Hermione feel more comfortable and at ease. The two girls smiled awkwardly and Marlene cleared her throat.

"Well enough with the tears and sappiness there's shopping to be done." Marlene's enthusiasm quickly came back into full force. The two girls headed out towards the shops, both grateful not only for the day ahead, but for finding a friend who might be able to understand.

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Thank you again for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Reviews are welcomed and encouraged; I like to know what I can improve or change :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hello!

For all of those who have reviewed, favorite, followed, etc- first of all, THANK YOU! I apologize for my horrible ability to update, but school/work is killing me. With that said, I cannot promise regular updates, but I can say that I do have plans for this story and am not planning on abandoning this anytime soon.

I apologize for any grammar/ mistakes you see. I am the only one checking this over, and generally run on no sleep, so there will probably be numerous errors.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and as always, reviews would be greatly appreciated.

-Kate : )

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**CHAPTER 3**

Hermione collapsed on her bed face first. She couldn't remember the last time she was this tired. Shopping with Marlene McKinnon was more exhausting than battling five Death Eaters at once. She laughed slightly at that, rolling over to look at all the bags that now covered her floor. They had left the house this morning around 9 and had just gotten back at half past six. They were expected to meet the rest of the Order at the safe house in a half hour and Hermione was convinced she wasn't going to make it. Not only had the two witches shopped, spending too many galleons to count, but they had also gotten Hermione a haircut. Her whiskey curls still hung to almost waist length but all the dead ends were gone and she now had numerous layers, several long layers in the front framing her face. The witch at the salon had given Hermione a deep conditioning treatment which made her curls silky and shiny. Marlene insisted this was necessary, stating that Hermione had neglected her feminine side for far too long and that she needed to indulge herself now while she had the time.

"Hermione, we're leaving in twenty minutes. Be ready, and wear one of your new outfits. We need to show you off!" Marlene yelled from her room.

Hermione groaned. She wished she could avoid this whole Order meeting for at least a couple days. She was exhausted and she was nervous. She had only met a few of the several people that would be in attendance tonight, and most of those that she knew did not know her in this time. She knew that Harry's parents and the rest of the Marauders would be in attendance. She shuddered thinking about being anywhere close to Pettigrew. Dumbledore had already seen the Peter from her memories for the traitorous rat he was and it comforted her to know actions would be taken at some point.

Hermione rolled out of bed and stared at the floor of her room. Almost every inch of the dark hard wood floor was taken up by shopping bags. She had not only gotten an entirely new wardrobe, but had gotten an elaborate potions kit, several books, and supplies for Crookshanks. She had found her familiar in Magical Menagerie and was ecstatic to see the feline. Although he was a small kitten in this time, he still possessed the attitude that made him infamous within Gryffindor tower. The owner had told her that Crookshanks was recovering from a cold but he would owl her to let her know when she could come to pick him up. While the past few days had been completely overwhelming, knowing that she would now have her familiar with her comforted her and made the feelings of loneliness slightly dissipate.

Moving around the cage Hermione began to dig through her bags to find something to wear. Slipping on a pair of ripped skinny black jeans she quickly altered the waist to ride lower. While she wanted to fit in with fashion of the time, high waisted jeans is where she drew the line. The weather was quickly cooling with the approach of fall so Hermione decided on a long sleeve t-shirt with The Clash's logo on the front. The top fit almost like a crop top, stopping right under her belly button. Although Hermione was more conservative in her normal clothes, the style of the time was all about showing skin and tight fitted clothes, and Marlene had decided most of her purchases. Slipping on one of her favorite finds, a pair of to the knee Doc Martens, she looked in the mirror and found she was satisfied with the overall look.

Hermione dug through the bags to find her muggle make up. Marlene had seemed appalled that she would even think to use some of the barbaric contraptions muggle women used to primp themselves, but Hermione had seen her fair share of beauty spells and potions go awry. From her third year on, Hermione strictly stuck with muggle makeup; she still shuddered every time she thought of Lavender Brown's first attempt at a mascara charm which resulted in her eyes being glued together for three days. She carefully applied a thick line of coal eyeliner to her top lid, and added a generous amount of mascara, using an eyelash curler to finish the job. She couldn't remember the last time she had put on makeup, or actually taken the time to really put herself together. It was a welcome change. While she could never be a beauty like Marlene or Lily Evans, she thought she looked pretty, and that made her smile.

"Hermione, you ready to go?" Fabian asked knocking on her semi closed door.

"Yeah, you can come in. I'm just looking for the new purse I bought." Hermione said, her voice muffled as she searched through the multiple bags. Fabian stepped into the room and laughed. It looked like a tornado had gone off in the room, and from the very little time he spent with Hermione, he could already tell the disorganization was driving her crazy. He made his way to her bed, sitting on the very edge, as the rest of the bed was taken up by more shopping bags and clothes.

"Found it!" Hermione jumped up with a grin, spinning around to greet Fabian. She was met with a gaping mouth, which quickly turned into a smirk. Fabian had known his new roommate was attractive, but in the previous situation his twin had been in mortal danger. With his git of a brother in good condition, he could now completely appreciate the beauty in front of him. He wolf whistled and smiled even larger when he saw the deep blush spread from Hermione's cheeks down her neck.

"I knew you were a looker, but I think you're trying to break some necks tonight, love." Hermione's blush became even darker and she began to tug uncomfortably at her top.

"Do you think this is inappropriate for an Order meeting? Marlene said everyone wears street clothes but I can always change.." She said, mumbling towards the end. Her unease was apparent and Fabian stared at her curiously. Surely a girl who was not only beautiful but wickedly talented couldn't be so self-conscious, but alas, he admitted to himself, that the female brain was and always would be a complete mystery to him.

"You look beautiful love, I was just teasing you. Now let's get going before McKinnon comes up here and kicks both of our arses.'' He ushered her out of the room with a smile, not giving her time to change or second guess herself. The pair walked down the flights of stairs before meeting with Gideon and Marlene in the living room.

"You look beautiful! I knew some proper clothes and a good hair cut would do you good." Marlene squealed, hugging the smaller girl tightly. It had been a long time since Hermione had gotten so much attention for her looks, and while it obviously made her uncomfortable, she couldn't help but smile shyly and appreciate the compliments.

"Okay, moving on to business, we're all going to apparate to outside of headquarters. Once you've officially joined the Order you will be able to apparate directly inside to the outside sitting room. When you get there, one of the other members is going to ask you a security question and then you'll be asked to show your patronus. I was told that one of the higher up members will be there to supervise and I'm assuming they know your patronus and security question answer." Marlene paused; she looked over to see the smaller girl had paled significantly. "I know it seems kind of extreme, but times are getting to be more dangerous. Way more dangerous than they've ever been."

"No, it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm just a little nervous to meet everyone is all." Marlene smiled at Hermione, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"They'll love you. Look how quickly you had the twins fawning over you. I know they haven't said anything directly to you, but you saving Gideon's life has already permanently placed you in their good books. They'll watch out for you and defend you to anyone. Not that'd you need it though, you'll win over everyone who takes the time to talk to you." Marlene whispered into her ear. She gave Hermione a quick hug, and then turned her attention back to the twins.

"Are you two apparating directly inside or are you coming to the outside with us?"

"We'll come to the outside with you; it's easier if they can check us all in the same place." Gideon answered, sending a comforting smile to Hermione. She smiled back, thinking to herself how she couldn't believe how lucky she was to be placed with such a great group of people. She breathed in deeply, refocusing herself, and completely fixing her features. While on the inside she was a ball of nerves, to any outsider she looked calm and confident. She straightened her posture, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and marched over to where the rest of the group was readying for departure. Marlene looked over at the girl, and secretly smiled to herself. Hermione was tough, much tougher than she appeared, and that was something that Marlene McKinnon could appreciate.

"Alright everyone, Marlene you take Hermione. We'll individually apparate with you guys at the same time. Ready.. 3, 2, 1." Three pops and a spinning sensation later, all four young adults were standing outside of what appeared to be an abandoned shack in the woods. Before her feet were firmly on the ground, a wand was pointed into her neck. Without thinking Hermione grabbed the arm, flipping the person over on to the ground. Straddling the grown man into the mud, her knee pressing deeply into his chest and her wand pressed between his eyes, Hermione made eye contact with the man. Long black, silky hair, aristocratic features, and deep indigo eyes; it had seemed like a lifetime since Hermione had seen this face. Shocked eyes stared up at her as she finally gathered where she was. Two pairs of arms grabbed her off the man, holding her firmly in place between them.

"I'm guessing this is the new recruit we've heard so much about. She sure as hell put you on your ass, Black." One of the men chuckled, looking over at Sirius who was slowly sitting up from the ground. He quickly turned around to face her, all amusement completely absent from his features. "What was the name of Dumbledore's sister?" The man she could only assume to be Moody asked, his wand poking deeply into her throat. While he definitely appeared younger, he still greatly resembled his older self. His magical eye swiveled around manically. While he had said everything fast to rattle her, Hermione was not easily caught off guard when she was in what everyone in her time referred to as war mode.

"Her name was Ariana, although why you'd ask such a personal security question is beyond me. Kindly remove your wand, or I'll remove it for you." Her voice was strong and confident, and she did not flinch when Moody burst out into a booming laugh.

"Well lass, you have a brass set, that's for sure. Show me your patronus and I'll gladly remove my wand." Hermione smirked at the older man's humor, and gathered her thoughts. She silently flicked her wand, and an extreme white light exploded from the tip. Soon the group could see a werewolf taking form; what seemed like an average wolf from far away, once close you could see the animal was double the size and twice as aggressive. The patronus quickly took in its surrounding and stood guard it front of its owner, barring its teeth in a show of protection. Hermione made a quick and quiet whistle to her patronus, immediately placating the beast. He laid down his large body in front of her, calmed down by her admonishment and reassurance.

"Excellent, Excellent. I still can't get over your relationship with your patronus. It truly is quite fascinating." Dumbledore stated, interrupting the stunned silence of the group, as he stood in the now open door of the shack. "If everyone would like to come inside, it's getting quite chilly, and I can gather, everyone's been thoroughly checked." Dumbledore walked inside, quietly laughing with one of the other Order members. The rest of the group slowly got their bearings, and began to walk inside. Moody grabbed her arm, holding her back from entering with the rest of the group. When the rest of the group disappeared, he faced her completely and stuck his hand out.

"Alastor Moody, it's nice to meet you lass. Dumbledore debriefed me entirely on your case. It'll be nice to work with someone who has some actual experience. With that in mind, you must understand, you are an incredible asset to us but a weakness as well. You must always remember to keep constant vigilance; if the other side was to even get access to anything you know.." He trailed off, his magical eye looking around the area once more.

"It's nice to meet you as well. This isn't the first time we met, and I must be honest, it's a comfort to see you again. Constant vigilance is something that has kept me alive this far, and without your training, I don't know where I would be."

Hermione said quietly, her voice clogging up slightly from the unshed tears. She knew this man did not want to see her have an emotional breakdown, but it was such a relief to see one of her former mentors. Surprisingly the older man put a heavy hand on her shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze.

"It'll be my pleasure to get to know you. Let's head in, it's safer inside." He stated gruffly, and quickly moved ahead of her, leaving Hermione to scramble to keep up with the auror. She smiled, thinking to herself how Moody really hadn't changed much. His exterior was incredibly rough, but inside was a man who truly cared about those around him and the world he lived in.

Walking into the headquarters was something she was not prepared for, no matter how much she tried to prep herself. While the place was different, and so were many of the people, this house full of Order members felt like home. Working in a group like the Order created a bond amongst members like nothing she had known before. Each and every person was not only dedicated to the same cause, which in itself was bonding, but each person in the Order was willing to die for not only the cause, but for other members. It did not matter how long you knew someone, or how well, if they were a member, anyone in the organization would gladly sacrifice their lives for you and vice versa. In her time, it seemed that the only people she was truly close with were Order members. No one else would be able to completely understand the life she lived. She was a soldier, and her life, while not expendable, was something that she was willing to give if necessary. While that thought seemed extreme, the time she came from was different that it was now. Those in this time period were terrified of the war that seemed to be looming over their heads, but her time had already been destroyed by war with no hope for the future. Each and every Order member was dedicated to ending the chaos by whatever means necessary.

Hermione shook herself out of that train of thought, realizing she had been standing outside the main doorway of the meeting room for an undeterminable amount of time. While she deeply missed those from home, she was happy to be in this time. There was hope here, and that was something that the future had been lacking for quite some time.

"Come on in love, we don't bite." A smooth voice said from behind her. Hermione whipped around to see the same pair of violet eyes she had been staring at not even thirty minutes ago. She smiled shyly, cheeks reddening from the attention. She hadn't meant to take him down in such a way, but instinct took over the minute she believed she was under attack. She cleared her throat, getting ready to apologize when another man barreled through the door, throwing his arm roughly over Sirius' shoulder.

"I would like to inform you that you have now been picked as this month's favorite member of the Order. I would have some kind of pin, or t-shirt for you, but seeing as this position was actually just created solely for you and your performance outside, I am slightly unprepared. I give my sincerest apologizes, my lady."

Hermione stood incredibly still the entire time the boisterous man spoke. She was staring at Harry. Logically, she knew this was not her best friend, but it was so hard to stare at his carbon copy. She unfroze long enough to take a step back as Sirius tackled the Harry look alike to the floor. He laughed loudly, a deep sound filling the room, entirely different then Harry's quite chuckles. The two rolled around on the floor for several minutes, Sirius attempting to put the other man in what she assumed he meant to be a chokehold.

"James Potter, I sincerely hope that when I come into that room that I do not see you and Sirius rough housing on the ground. I mean, it's silly for me to suggest such a thing, considering I know for a fact you were raised to be a gentleman and would not act in such a way when meeting a new Order member. Especially when this new Order member is completely new to the area, and is probably completely overwhelmed at the fact that not only does she have to meet an entirely new group of people, but has to deal with the Marauders and the Prewett twins in one gathering."

James and Sirius had immediately jumped up from the floor at the beginning of the woman's tirade. The two had already started what seemed to be an elaborate excuse, but quickly mirrored the several offended noises around the room once hearing the end of her speech.

"I would just like to point out that Hermione is already part of Team Prewett. She lives with us, she saved my life, and she deals with Fabian. She's bonded to us now, so you can't have her. She's also fit, so you double can't have her."

The twins had both moved to across the room, each of them now on her sides, with their arms around her shoulders. Gideon gave her a wide smile and an extra squeeze, sensing that the girl was still uncomfortable in the large group of people.

"Double can't have her? That's not even an argument! Also, she put Sirius on the ground faster than I've ever seen him been taken down. We need her! You see how uncontrollable he is! I mean for Merlin's sake, look at that girly hair of his!" James argued, gesturing wildly with his arms.

"Prongs, I know you did not just criticize my beautiful locks when you have that god forsaken mop of hair on your head." The two boys faced each other once more, yelling insults faster than anyone else could keep up.

"Ahem." The quiet noise instantly silenced the rowdy group of boys, and Hermione looked up to see a beautiful red head carrying a large dish of some type of pastry. James quickly went to take the dish out of his wife's arm, leaving the woman free to come over to Hermione. Before she could do anything, she was enveloped in the woman's arms and Hermione had no choice but to hug the woman back. While normally hugging a stranger would be incredibly uncomfortable, it seemed to be just the thing she needed. She couldn't help but already greatly appreciate the redhead's kindness.

"It's lovely to meet you, Hermione, I'm Lily Potter. I've heard a little about you already from Dumbledore and the others, but it's nice to put an actual name to a face." She said with a wide smile, one which Hermione couldn't help but respond to in kind.

"Could one of you go fetch Remus? He was laying down upstairs and I told him I'd wake him up, but I want to show Hermione the kitchen." Lily looked at the two marauders questioningly. The Prewett twins had already moved across the room to bother Marlene after Lily had come to talk to Hermione, although both men kept checking to make sure she was okay. She shot them another smile, grateful to be on Team Prewett, as they had worded it. Lily took Hermione's hand and led her into the kitchen area, which was empty save for them. Hermione looked up curiously at the other woman, wondering why she had wanted to talk to her privately already. Lily sensing this, cut to the chase.

"Dumbledore wanted me to take you aside and let you know that I am the primary healer for the Order. If necessary, Madame Pomfrey can see you or St. Mungo's, but we generally try keep out of Pomfrey's hair because of her hectic load, and you can guess why we stay away from Mungo's. He told me you still had some injuries from your most recent mission, so if you'd like to stop by my house tomorrow I will gladly do what I can to help. Be warned though, if you come over, you have to stay for lunch and you'll most likely be subjected to more of my husband and his childlike friends."

The redhead laughed, and Hermione quickly followed suit with a quiet giggle. She didn't know if it was the beautiful woman's kindness or the fact that she knew those green eyes better than she knew her own, but she was surprised that she felt so comfortable with this woman already. Although hesitant to have one more person look at her injuries and scars, Hermione agreed to stop by Lily's house within the next day or two to get checked over once more. The two women continued to talk, both quickly realizing how much they had in common. They continued to talk until James popped back in to the room, asking if Hermione could show the rest of the Order how her patronus behaved. He and Sirius had both agreed that her patronus looked eerily similar to Remus, and that the were might get a kick of seeing himself in iridescent form.

Hermione settled herself into a corner of the large meeting room, steadied her thoughts, and silently produced her patronus. Again the beast jumped out, quickly surveying the area before standing guard in front of its owner. Hermione clicked her tongue, and motioned downwards with her hand. The beast quickly laid down, his huge body displayed at her feet. The group clapped with enthusiasm, and Hermione looked up to the impressed group, glancing around the room before locking eyes with a familiar golden pair. She smiled, happy to see another friendly face she knew, but the smile quickly fell off her face.

While she had smiled at the eye contact, the man in question went still. Every muscle in his was body frozen; the only thing moving was his eyes, frantically sweeping up and down her body. Before she could say hello, the tall werewolf jumped up from his seat, almost knocking his chair down, and sped out of the room.

Hermione frowned, wondering what she could have done to upset Remus Lupin in the few moments they had been in the same room.


End file.
